Author: Greg Lozano
Resident Evil 4‘s remake wrapped its comforting arms of nostalgia around me as I immersed myself in the game, constantly reminding me of how different it was from the original. The new layouts of the world, the smarter AI, and the more complex challenges made the experience enjoyable, but something felt off.
I appreciated the shooting gallery and its attempt to take on a more serious tone, yet I was less than pleased with the revamped quests replacing the medals scattered throughout the map. In the quest to eliminate redundancy, the game deviated from rewarding observant players to introducing tasks such as killing rats or collecting vipers—penalties for players who chose to conserve ammunition in the original game.
While these changes are not necessarily negative and serve to uphold the grandeur of the original RE4, they prompt the question—what would the original RE4 be with modern controls? The most regrettable aspect of this remake is the lack of urge to replay the game and create new challenges, a feature I found endearing when the game first surfaced. The original RE4 enticed me to push my limits, such as seeing how far I could progress without saving or restricting myself to certain weapons. Now, I am more inclined to pursue the achievements, play it through, and possibly revisit it on some future summer day. Once stimulated by the original game, the sense of adventurousness felt dimmed.
Mercenary mode, once a thrilling accomplishment to unlock, now feels like a downloadable add-on, removing the need for countless hours of gameplay. This addition, unfortunately, dilutes the contrast between the game’s action-horror genre and a full-blown action-tension mode.
For newcomers to the franchise or this game, I can only hope they feel the thrill I once did. However, for this veteran gamer, the remake is more of a trip down memory lane, reminding me of my good times with the original. It is enjoyable but not as gripping as the genre-defining original from years ago.
I rate it 3.5 out of 5.
